Technology mission that first demonstrated xenon ion propulsion in deep-space.

This artist's concept shows ESA's LISA Pathfinder spacecraft, which launched on Dec. 3, 2015, from Kourou, French Guiana, will help pave the way for a mission to detect gravitational waves. On Jan 10, 2016, all eight Colloid Micronewton Thrusters (CMT) on the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft passed their functional tests, becoming the first operation of electrospray thrusters in space. The CMT's were developed by Busek with technical support from JPL.

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Launched Sept. 2007, NASA's Dawn spacecraft is being propelled by a trio of NSTAR ion thrusters on its journey to visit the two heaviest main-belt asteroids, Vesta and Ceres. (Credit: Background- William K. Hartmann, Courtesy of UCLA; image-NASA/MCREL)